GHOST HUNTERS

I have a highly unusual experience with Civil War ghosts. I grew up in a home that was previously used as a field hospital during the Civil War by both the North and South at different times of the war. A war-time setting is the ideal breeding ground for ghostly activity. We know that battlefields have earned enormous reputations as haunted locations, as have sites such as my childhood home that were used as hospitals for the dying, who died in agonizing and barbaric conditions.  This is an ideal set of conditions for some serious hauntings. In the case of the home I grew up in, the estate had many apparitions on the land and a shadow like figure within the house. It had lots of voices and memory sounds like booted footfalls, as well as objects moving and poltergeist type "throwing" of objects upon occasion. The ghosts of Gettysburg are most popular of all the Civil War ghosts, though the South certainly has a huge share of ghosts from the era from Atlanta to Charleston and p

Outlaws and the Old West - you can't get much more American Legend than that. You also can't find a catalyst for more badass ghosts. Investigating the Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone a couple years ago, I learned a lot about the amount of deaths associated with a place that was known for drinking, gambling and whoring by some folks who almost no scruples. Put that atop of copper mines running through the land beneath, and you have an almost too tempting conduit for a haunting. Jesse James was seen as a Robin Hood of the West.  His body was buried at the family's Missouri farm and later moved to a cemetery, but folks at the farm reported his haunting there still with reports of doors slamming, lights moving, a feeling of being watched, and sounds of yelling and gun shots. The 1930s outlaws, Bonnie and Clyde supposedly give off ghostly image at the location where they died when people take photographs of the marker. This wonderful site reports this chilling outlaw ghost stor

I hear people toss around the "belief" word a lot. "I believe in ghosts." "I believe in Bigfoot." "I believe in ancient aliens." "I believe in UFOs." Belief is an interesting thing. To some, belief involves hope and wishes, " I believe (hope) we will the Super Bowl this year ." Then, there is belief that represents acceptance of a form of evidence,  " I believe the Bible is proof of God. "  Sometimes, it's a combination of hope and a form of evidence, "I hope there is an afterlife and people with near-death experiences are evidence of that ." For some, belief happens without question. They accept something and never really understand the origins of that acceptance. They don't stop and reevaluate it. Perhaps they just find it "feasible." Such as, "I believe in Bigfoot." (But, have never seen one, read about it, pursued knowledge about it, it just sounded like a reasonable concept

Tonight launches the new Paranormal Geeks Radio with host Jim Heater. It's on at this link 9 pm EST/8 pm Central/7 pm Mountain/6 pm Pacific Call in number 646-378-0275 For this opening show, Julie and I will be the guests and giving away a signed copy of "Paranormal Geeks" book to one lucky person in the chatroom. Opening music is provided by Jonathan Berman and his album " I Fall Awake ." The thrust of the show is to get a very wide range of paranormal experts and a great conversation going about all things PG (paranormal geek).  Jim Heather, the talented host and leader of the fantastic Illinois group, CHiPS and Spirits of Lincoln, will be probing the minds of a huge variety of paranormal experts. We hope to create unity within the paranormal field so there is no elitism, but only curiosity. If you were into ghosts before, bring on-board ancient aliens or psychics, cryptids or UFOs, and zombies. Don't be afraid to let your mind open even further!   In up

Gangster: A gangster is a member a gang out to perform illegal activities. They are also called mobsters. Perhaps one of these most infamous gangsters in America was Al Capone. He got to that position by cornering the market in prostitution, bootlegged alcohol and gambling in Chicago during the Prohibition Era. In the case of Al Capone, he was believed to be haunted by a ghost from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, Bob Dole, an Irish rival gang member.   Jimmy Hoffa perhaps makes one of the most chilling ghosts.  From heading up the teamsters to nefarious mob work with jury tampering, bribing, and fraud. He was pardoned by Nixon and then went missing in 1975, believed to have been killed off.  There have been lots of theories about where his body is: Buried under a driveway in Detroit. Supposedly, one of the men Hoffa was supposed to meet the day he went missing was mixing concrete for a new driveway at his home. A horse farm 30 miles away where a backhoe was taken in that

Prohibition:  From 1920 to 1933, America banned alcohol production and sales, but that didn't stop inventive folks from stilling liquor and serving it in hidden lesser known locations. They were named speakeasies because in public, people whispered of them and once inside, they remained quiet to not draw attention to the illegal gathering. Bootlegging liquor obviously brought in a gangster interest and mob activity associated with killings, greed, and intimidation. Speakeasies, brothels and gambling went hand in hand and developed the gangster/mobster issues that ensued. When there is a hot industry to be made and no regulation, lawlessness occurs, as do killings. It would appear that Decatur, Illinois has cornered the market on speakeasy ghosts. In the downtown area where buildings that once housed speakeasies are located, tenants are still troubled by the past shenanigans. This wonderful posting t ells in great detail about Decatur speakeasies and its ghosts - The first reported

Last night, the team went to West Virginia (the home of most of my family). I have been going there since I was a baby and the towns I go to, have not changed one single iota in several decades. Much of the land is untouched and filled with caves, lakes, streams and tons of wild turkeys and deer. West Virginia is a state one doesn't drive through, it's a bit of a dead end for road trips, so people go there intentionally and not to go through it to go somewhere else. If there was ever a great state for BF, it's this one! In fact, I had an encounter I believe at the Pipestem State Park which is a sanctuary for wildlife. I hope to go back there this summer and check it out more closely. Best Lines From the Show: Cliff:  Surely, crappy photos are fully forgivable. Bobo: He's a real squatcher, I'll tell you that. Welcome to the club. Cliff:   Like the gates of hell opened up! Ranae:   If there's one thing I know Bobo loves, it's a party. Ranae:   Maybe I'll

Tonight's episode I'm very excited about. I have family in West Virginia and had an experience there on a preserve that has me determined to go back this summer and check it out again. I even found some highly unusual stick structures. The preserve was so filled with deer and wild turkey that the roadway up was plugged with them. The entire mountain had tons of caves and lakes and streams. It was a wonderland with extremely few visitors. Relatives have told stories of Bigfoot encounters there and a relative when I was a kid, left out food on a tree stump near the woods for the "white bear man" described as looking like a bear, walking like a man.  In several decades of visiting the area, not a thing has changed. West Virginia has to be a destination to go through it. People don't use it as a thru-way, so it remains very unchanged and very untouched and positively ideal for BF. Expect my review of the show tomorrow morning on the blog and all the best lines of the

Rumor has been strong that Apollo 20 captured a cigar-shaped craft on the moon - If all this isn't wild enough, consider this theory; "Spaceship Moon Theory" also known as "Vasin-Shcherbakov Theory." This one states that the Earth's moon is actually an alien ship. The concept includes that the moon is a hollowed out "faux" moon. They believed that, looking at the crater shapes proved there was no depth to the moon. How about a site devoted to aliens on the moon ? An interesting article that talks more about a potential alien base on the moon can be found here.  If one believes in alien visitors, the moon is an obvious base for operations to visit the Earth, go back and rest without being found. The other option is one that I think has a lot of merit (if aliens really visit us) which is to take the air-tight, pressure-controlled ship and dive it into the ocean and hide there handily until it's time to come back out and hover over a backyard

When Julie and I do our urban exploration trips for our own curiosity and interest and for the abandoned places: abandoned memories book series, we feel compelled to go back to locations we had previously chronicled. Most of them are gone by the time we get back within a year's time. This location below was a large warehouse type building that was featured in our Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition) book. The place was not a danger or rickety, but it was at a fairly busy intersection area and obviously teens had partied extensively inside. This location was a total surprise. Julie and I stopped along I-10 on the way to Tucson, a place called Picacho. There was a little post office, a bunch of abandoned 1950s looking roadside motels, trailers, little houses, this motel and the tabernacle (below). We came back a year later and couldn't find the town and then we learned they had plowed the whole town under! This house (below) was a few homes over from my sister

"Highway to Hell" AC/DC Tonight's episode is "Passport To Hell" about the most sinister locations in the world. Zak and the Boyz are gonna kick up some screams, no doubt. Drinking Game Rules 1. Stay home. 2. One sip for every "dude," "bro," "man," every time Zak thinks he was touched by a ghost and every time Aaron's mouth drops open in horror. Drink tonight? Hell's kitchen drink - 1 oz whiskey, 1 oz irish cream on the rocks

Although it's a romantic notion that the dead are attached to their belongings and remain with them as they go from family member to family member's home, as a psychometrist, I can tell you that souls do not attach to objects, but memories and energies do. It is entirely possible to use an object as a touchstone to contact the dead and these can be utilized in seances and EVP sessions to create a focus for the loved one. Many people attribute strange happenings, bad mojo and ghostly activity with the acquisition of antiques, family mementos and other aged items, but I can assure you that a ghost did not attach itself to the object and walk into your home with it. Objects hold energies, good and bad, unsettling and spastic. When these are placed into a home where there are other objects or conditions that also present a haunted situation, more disruption can occur. If activity starts up, I always say to go backwards. Remove the newest acquisition and place it away from the othe

**earlier today, I did a post on regular profile pics. This one is about doing an unusual one** If you're a paranormal geek, getting a good nightvision/IR shot of yourself is key. You can take still shots from video, but you can also fake them or get real ones cheaply. Fake: Take a shot of yourself with a flash camera at night. Put the shot up on Photoshop and desaturate it so it's black and white. If you want to give it a TV-style nightvision look, adjust colors to lots of green and a little bit of yellow. Real:  Here's an IR light you can use when photographing. It's only 13.98 on Amazon. This shot (above) was done by moving slightly while taking the shot. Gives a ghostly effect. In the right setting, a hint of where you are, an abandoned building, a corn maze, or a cemetery can give you a real "in the field look." This one (above) was a Blair Witch attempt to create a creepy image that says a bit about what's going on and a lot left to the imagination

I have been asked from time to time, how to make a good profile pic that portrays one's personality and also takes best advantage of appearance. ( This was an accidental shot taken at sunset. Didn't realize the light was so dwindling, but it landed on parts of me and that made it even more mysterious--accidents sometimes work, so don't toss anything out until you see it on the computer ) Let's go through the steps - ASSETS:  What do people tend to compliment you on? Do you have dimples? Pretty eyes? Full lips? Nice even skin tones? Awesome hair? And what expressions are you most known for? Look in the mirror and try out a lot of different faces from serious to sexy, funny to happy.  I realized the things about me that are most likely to draw the eye are my full lips and my big bright hair. WEAKNESSES:  I hate my nose and my neck. Personality: Are you perky and adorable? Introspective and deep? Goth or confident? The background, costuming, lighting, all should take adva